


Dog Days

by Kai_Heartnet



Series: Bullets and Numbering [4]
Category: Norse Mythology
Genre: Baby Fenrir - Freeform, Big Brother Fen, Child, Eight-legged children, Everybody lies, Fen's still the oldest, Gen, I changed the birth order a wee bit, Questionable Parenting Skills, Well - Freeform, You can't expect much from a mother of "sorrow"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2015-08-21
Packaged: 2018-04-16 11:45:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4624158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kai_Heartnet/pseuds/Kai_Heartnet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His little brothers are a giant snake and an eight-legged horse, and he's pretty sure his sister is a rotting corpse. His mother holds the gambit over sadness, and his dad is currently chained to some rocks for second-degree murder. If Fenrir was a little distrusting of people, well, who could blame him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> As far as their order of birth goes, it's:
> 
> -Fenrir  
> -Hel & Jörmungandr  
> -Narfi  
> -Sleipnir
> 
> For the plot and such. Comments are welcomed, good or bad. Ta for now.

_**Jötunheim** _

The air is frigid and unforgiving, but it's familiar. Fenrir barely feels it as he dashes through the snow with Hel and Jörmungandr laughing on his back. The sound wasn't foreign in this realm.

For every derogatory slur thrown toward Jötunheim, it was a generally friendly place. At least, it was to its own inhabitants. No one who was born in Jötunheim considered it the wasteland that the  _Æsir_ did. Yes, the winters were impressively devastating, but that was only one part of it. There was the stunning sunrises and the powerful winds that could make you feel like you were flying, and there was always the sharp smell of _earth_ that always made Fenrir feel happy. It was the kind of place that felt too good to be true, but maybe that was just Fen.

He was still a pup when they came. He and his siblings had just come in from playing in the snow when they were met with armed guards and fearful glares. Their mother's own expression was one of hatred, aimed at the man Fenrir hadn't seen since Hel and Jörmungandr were born. To his credit, their father did look upset by the whole thing, but he did nothing to stop the guards from taking the children from the only home they'd known. From the only parent who had tried to raise them.

Loki didn't even spare them a glance, but he did offer some advice once they arrived at Asgard.

"Careful, children. Here there be monsters."


	2. Here There Be Monsters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From this point on, it's in Fen's point of view.

_**Asgard** _

Odin is a self-righteous asshole.

I make this assumption the very first time we meet. I'm barely able to hold a human form so I don't, and I am completely convinced that none of the deities watching over our meeting are aware that I am more than a beast to be tamed. They have already spread out my siblings, and only I have been _allowed_ to remain in Asgard's golden halls. Odin has been talking for hours, but I'm certain he hasn't really said anything other than what I am destined to do. I cannot express how much I do not care, so I simply sit in front of him and watch the clouds from the window beside his throne.

I was supposed to kneel. Both Loki and the guards had informed me of this several times, but I refused. Odin wasn't my king, and he certainly wasn't my god. I would never kneel to anyone I felt was unworthy of me, and I had told them this. The guards called me foolish, but Loki seemed impressed. I didn't insult either of us by calling him father.

"-And that is why you shall remain here," Odin finished, and I blinked lazily at him. We both knew I had heard nothing, but he dismisses me anyways.

My freedom is a loose idea.

I'm not allowed to leave Asgard, and I must always be accompanied by a guard wherever I go. They all hold the same glare that the guards who collected me from home had, and it would be funny if it weren't for the fact they held swords and spears. Even as a kid, I knew weapons and shaky hands weren't a good combination. No one talked to me- aside from the constant spiel I got from Odin. I honestly don't think any knew I _could_ speak, though it couldn't be the strangest thing they've seen.

This is disproved when I meet Tyr.

He's several generations my senior, and I don't understand why he sought me out. Unlike Odin, Tyr doesn't expect me to be grateful to be brought into Asgard. The first thing out of his mouth when we meet, me surrounded by three guards and he just returning from a trip to Midgard, is "This must suck."

Though the words are strange, the guards don't even question it. They also don't question when Tyr offers to take me off their hands for awhile.

Tyr is all about bravery and honor. He talks of warriors I've never heard of and decisions I could never make. He talks of places that I wish I could see with my own eyes, and he talks of emotions I'm too young to experience. He talks to me as if I were anyone else, and it's the first time I ever enjoy a minute in Asgard. And that's what it feels like- a minute. Before long, out conversation winds to an end and I'm handed over to soldiers not eager to be in my presence again. Tyr promises to see me again, and I doubt the truth of his word. Though I had barely spent anytime in the world of the _Æsir_ , I already understood Loki's words better than I should have.

The next time I see Tyr, it's because I'm hungry and the gods are idiots.

They still treat me as if I'm some stray dog, and they all act as if one of them has to feed me. Odin refuses to bring me food because he is a king, and kings do not pander to dogs. Frigga offers, but Odin will not allow his queen to behave in such a manner either. Thor, for all his bluster, says that he is allergic to dogs and cannot come near me. Frey and Freya outright admit that they think I will take a bite out of them instead of whatever they bring. Loki is out doing who knows what, and no one else can be bothered. So Tyr, of bravery and honor, brings me a plate of food.

It's nothing special, just some dried meats and a few pieces of fruit- which I ignore- but it's more than I was going to get waiting around for anyone else. Tyr finds it funny that I didn't go to the kitchens on my own, and he finds it funnier that I don't know where they are. I haven't told Tyr about the fact that I can take human form, but I feel it isn't something I should share. He comments on the fact that I have grown since the last time he's seen me which is ridiculous. He talks more of the nine realms as I eat, and I tell him of my memories of Jötunheim and my brother and sister. That is when Tyr tells me of another child of Loki, a son of Sigyn. It isn't surprising, and we don't talk about him anymore.


	3. Bravery and Honor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gleipnir is really fun to say. Not so fun to deal with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize I read that comment wrong, but still, I hadn't planned for this fic to be more than a few chapters. Granted, things rarely goes as planned. Thanks for the comment! They're always appreciated!

_**Asgard** _

By the time I've grown fully into a wolf, Tyr has become the only real pleasantness in an otherwise golden abyss. His stories of other worlds makes this one a little more bearable, and I find myself looking forward to his visits.

He speaks of honor as if it is a tangible thing to be held, and he says that it is something often forgone for the sake of fortune and for glory. He says that there is no glory if you forsake your honor, and I find myself wishing to test my own honor. It is no secret that I've become little more than Tyr's pet, but he treats me more like a friend. Even as friends, however, I never speak of the magic I've inherited, and no one ever asks. They assume that my growth and my strength are the only gifts I was given, and I enjoy their ignorance.

Tyr leaves often, usually to Midgard. Though he never says so, I know that the human realm is his favorite. It's filled with warriors who are more at war with themselves than with each other on most days, and it is that moral struggle that Tyr loves. He also frequents Jötunheim for my benefit, and he usually brings a bag of dirt or a globe of snow to remind me where I came from. He sometimes travels to Niflheim and returns with tales of frost giants and spirits that could be swayed with gold. He also tells of my sister, Hel, who has become something of a tyrant in her years apart from everything. She rules over ice and death, and her once beautiful visage has been morphed by the darkness that she was thrown into. He again speaks of honor, and how those she oversees lack it. Theirs was an existence that held nothing worthwhile or exemplary, and so they were left to rot in ice and darkness.

Tyr never says it, but we both know I can relate to those in Hel's realm. When I finally express a wish to prove myself, Tyr finds it intriguing. For the most part, I'm a guest of Asgard- a great honor in most eyes- but I didn't earn it. Asgard is a shining prison and the only reason I was there was because of Odin's paranoia. Tyr tells me that he will find a way for me to prove myself.

A little over a week later, I'm staring at a metal contraption they call Leyding. I don't understand how it's supposed to bring me honor, and I tell Tyr this. It is Odin who responds by saying that no one has been able to break out of it.

"If you can, little wolf, your name will be known throughout the realms."

By this point, I am far from "little" and Leyding barely seems able to hold back young Sleipnir. I would turn them down, but Tyr tells me that my honor is on the line. I allow them to fasten Leyding on me with only mild complaints. The metal pulls at my fur, and I know that I could transform into my human body and simply walk away, but there were too many witnesses, and I still didn't want to reveal myself. So I tested the metal and was not surprised when it creaked and snapped before falling away.

Tyr laughed and Odin swore, and the other gods looked more than a little uneasy.

The next time this happens, they bring this weird leather thing they call Dromi. It looks weaker than Leyding, but I know better than to assume that it was. It is Odin who tells me of my honor, and it is Tyr who encourages me to test it.

"What do you have to lose, wolf?" Narfi smirks, and it is more shock than courage than make me agree because that is the first time he has ever spoken to me.

Dromi is fastened and it doesn't take long for me to break it, too. It barely takes more than a kick and a stretch, but I recognize that it indeed was stronger than the last one they had brought.

Tyr continues to tell me tales of other realms, and he now adds in the reputation I've somehow managed to gain. He says that I am known as the strongest in the lands and that there might be some who would like to test it. I know he is referring to Odin, who thinks he is being clever. It doesn't take a genius to know that he is getting more than a little nervous and he wants me bound and out of his sight. I'm more than a little shocked that he hasn't tried to outright kill me, yet. Tyr tells me that I'm the one that's paranoid, and that I have found my place among the heroes and legends of Asgard. I don't understand why this brings me a sliver of joy.

It is months later, and Asgard's eternal spring has a chill in the air. Odin holds a strange thing made of what looks like silk and smells just like Mjolnir. Every instinct in me screams not to touch it, and I can already see the lies calculating behind his eyes. Loki may have been the god of lies, Odin wasn't a stranger to them either. This time, there is more of an audience, and Odin makes a show of everyone testing out the new bindings as he explains.

"This is Gleipnir, made from dwarves and given to me. When they heard how strong you were, they thought to create something to test it."

"I'm not letting you put that on me," I stated flatly. We were on Lyngvi, an island sacred to the _Æsir_. It was covered in purple heather and soft grass, and the entire place looked surreal. It seemed impossible that people who lived in gold and diamonds could hold such a place in such high regard, but even Tyr had explained to me the importance that the island not be disturbed by their show.

"You would risk your honor in front of so many?" Odin grinned.

I scoffed.

"I would choose my freedom over my honor."

Tyr _tsked_ before glaring disbelieving at me.

" _Nothing_ is worth your honor, Fenrir!" he scolded. "Besides, you would be let go if you couldn't break Gleipnir. _Right_ , Odin?"

Odin agreed, though I was still distrusting.

"If you are all so willing to test my honor, I want to test yours. One of you put your hand in my mouth. If you don't hold up your side, I get to take it."

Many paled, and not even Loki was willing to test Odin's word against my strength. I scoffed again because they spoke of honor and bravery, yet none were willing to test theirs against their safety.

"So many weak hearts, hm?"

It is Tyr that speaks up, and I turn to him with doubt still clear in my eyes. He smiles at me and places his right hand in front of me.

The moment Gleipnir is fastened, I know I can't escape. Every kick and pull just makes it tighter, and it's not long before I can't move at all.

"I can't break it. Take it off," I concede to the laughter of those around me.

It is more the look of triumph that Odin holds than the actual, "No," that escapes his lips that causes me to bite down. Betrayal tasted like flesh and blood, and for a sickening moment, I enjoyed the sound of screams as everyone began to panic and Tyr bled out.

I snapped and barked at them as they tied me down to stones, and I cursed every single one of them even as they drove the sword in my mouth.


End file.
